Alabama Nursing Home Sued For Failure To Monitor Resident’s Blood Thinners, Leading To Death

An Alabama nursing home is being sued by the daughter of a former resident who died as a result of alleged nursing home negligence. The nursing home neglect lawsuit was filed on April 1, 2014, claiming that the 78-year-old woman died from coagulopathy due to the failure of the nursing home staff to perform required testing of the resident’s blood while she was on blood thinners ordered by her physician.

The Underlying Facts

On or about November 19, 2012, the daughter noticed that her mother’s knee was very swollen and the daughter advised the nursing home staff about her mother’s condition. About one week later, an ultrasound was read as indicating that the woman had deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In light of the woman’s lower extremity blood clot, her physician ordered that she be placed on two blood thinner medications the next day, along with blood testing every three days to check on her level of anticoagulation.

The nursing home lawsuit alleges that the last time the resident’s blood thinner level was checked was on December 1, 2012. Then, on December 5, 2012, the daughter noticed that her mother’s abdomen was swollen and severely bruised. The daughter notified the nursing home staff regarding her observations of her mother and was told that the injections of Lovenox and Coumadin into her mother’s abdomen caused the reactions. The nursing home staff allegedly failed to take any steps to address the resident’s condition despite the woman complaining of worsening abdominal pain throughout the following day.

After she complained of severe abdominal pain, the woman was transferred from the nursing home to the hospital the next day by her physician. At the hospital, the medical staff noted a large bruise on the woman’s abdomen. When blood testing was done at the hospital, it showed that her anticoagulation level was extremely high. She experienced symptoms of internal bleeding and kidney failure due to her high blood thinner level. The woman died shortly afterwards.

Prothrombin time (PT) is a blood test that measures the time it takes for blood plasma (the liquid portion of blood) to clot. Prothrombin time is measured in seconds and the result is reported as INR (international normalized ratio). The normal PT range for people not taking blood thinner medications is INR of 0.8 to 1.1 (11 to 13.5 seconds). The target range for people taking Coumadin (warfarin) to prevent blood clots is typically INR between 2.0 and 3.0 (with an INR between 2.0 and 3.0, bleeding problems are more likely: INR results higher than 3.0 mean an even higher risk for bleeding and INR results lower than 2.0 mean a higher risk for developing a blood clot).

If you or a loved one were injured (or worse) while a resident of a nursing home in the United States, you should promptly seek the legal advice of a local nursing home attorney in your state who may investigate your nursing home claim for you and represent you in a nursing home negligence or nursing home abuse claim, if appropriate.

Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free at 800-295-3959 to be connected with nursing home claim lawyers in your state who may assist you with your nursing home claim.